Baseball mitt



Nqv. 2, 1948. Q w. J. SYCNNQETT ET AL BASEBALL MITT Filed Sept. 5, 1947 Z ,W@ W m e d M Benjamin! 5- fiiabbe Patented Nov. 2, 1948 UNETED STATES FATE 3 @laims.

This invention relates to improvements in basemens mitts and is particularly directed to a novel backstop member disposed between the humb part and fingers section'of baseball mitts of this character.

It is an object of this invention to provide in a basemens mitt a flexible backstop member having a centrally disposed hinge which upon ball impact will permit the hinged sections of the backstop member to partially close around the ball to eiiect an improved ball catching or trap" pying action by the mitt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible backstop member having the foregoing characteristics wherein the hinged sections are capable of transverse adjustment so that the lateral extent of the backstop member and the amount of hinge action between the sections can be varied to suit the particular style or" a players catching action.

A further object of the invention is to provide between the yieldable thumb part and fingers section of a basemens mitt an independently constructed backstop member having the general form of the letter U; said member being secured to the adjacent edges of the thumb part and fingers section by lacing, and having a centrally disposed body weakening slot formed through its upper portion, with the edges of the member adjacent said slot adjustably held together by lacing; whereby said member acts upon ball impact to permit the slot-divided sections of the member to partially close around the caught ball to aid the thumb part and fingers section in elfectively trapping and holding said ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a basemens mitt an independent backstop member having the foregoing characteristics and which further has a centrally disposed openended. body weakening slot, opening into the outer edge of the member and extending a substanlial distance thcreunto, to provide for the member a pair of flexible leg portions at the outer end, and a comparatively semi-solid base portion whereby the backstop has the greatest amount of flexibih ity at the outer tip portion where it is required for ball catching purposes.

Other and further objects of the present invention subsequently will become apparent reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of our basemens mitt.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the front exterior piece for constructing the backstop member of our invention.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a complementary back exterior piece for the backstop member.

With reference to the drawings the numeral l generally indicates our baseball mitt which is provided with the usual palm piece 8 and back piece 9 made of leather, or the like. The back piece has formed in its upper portion an openended opening it which is disposed in alignment with a similar opening it formed in the palm piece The aligned openings divide the upper portion of the mitt into a thumb part l2 and a fingers section i3 which are adapted to flex around an intermediate, vertical portion I33 of the palm which has an imaginary extension passing substantially through the center of the aligned openings l3 and H formed in the back and palm pieces 9 and 8 respectively.

The marginal edge Hi of the palm piece is provided with an edge binding strip l5 secured thereto in the usual manner 'by a line of stitches it. In like manner the marginal edge of the back piece is protected by an edge binding strip H; the bound marginal edges being joined together by lacing it which is looped around the edges and passes through a series of holes or eyelets 19 formed through the pieces in axial alignment. The usual padding 2b is interposed between the palm and back pieces, and a hand hole 2i is formed between the pieces at the bottom of the mitt. Conventional finger stalls may also be formed the mitt lining between the padding and the back piece at approximately the places indicating the fingers of a players hand illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

A backstop member 22, having the general contour of the aligned openings in the mitt between the thumb part and the fingers section is positioned in said openings and as illustrated in Figs. 1 3 and 4 said backstop member is generally U- shape in front elevation. The member preferably has a U-shape front side 23 and an identical U-shaped back side 24 each provided, adjacent its marginal edge, with a series of eyelet receiving holes 25. A reenforcing piece 26 of U-shaped contour, may be interposed between front piece 23 and the back piece 25; and the marginal edges the assembled pieces are provided with a continuous edge binding strip 2'5 secured thereto by a continuous line of stitches 28.

The backstop member has a pair of spaced leg portions 29 and 30 which are integrally joined at their lower extremities by a semi-solid base portion 3|. To this end a centrally disposed, openended slot 32 is formed in the upper portion of the backstop member and extends into the member a considerable distance, said slot terminating in the upper end of the base portion 3| therefor. The edge portion of the backstop member is secured to the adjacent edges of the thumb part and the fingers section around the openings I and H by lacing 33 which is looped through a series of eyelet rivets 34 passing through the member and positioned adjacent its marginal edge. The lacing 33 has a succession of loops which are intertwined with the loops formed by the lacing H! which secures together the marginal edges of the palm and back pieces. A flexible means secures the adjacent edges of the leg portions 29 and 30 of the member and to this end a lacing 35 passes through a series of eyelets 36 positioned adjacent said edges.

It will therefore be noted that our U-shaped backstop member is permanently secured in the openings Ill and H between the thumb part and fingers section of a baseball mitt and that lateral adjustment can be madein the member itself by drawing up or loosening the lacing 35 which hingeably secures the leg portions of said member. The backstop member has a highly flexible hinge formed centrally thereof by the open-ended slot 32 and the associated lacing and ball impact with the member causes the hinged leg portions of the member to partially close around the ball which also allows the thumb part and the fingers section to more readily flex and contact the ball whereby an improved catching or trapping action is provided for the mitt. Furthermore the base portion 3| of the backstop member is semi-solid, whilst the upper leg portions are highly flexible, whereby the greatest amount of flexibility is disposed in the upper portion of the member where it is required for certain ball catching purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. A baseball mitt having a palm piece and a back piece each having an aligned opening formed therein to divide said pieces into a thumb part and a fingers section for the mitt, means for joining the marginal edges of the pieces, a U shaped backstop member positioned in the openings between the thumb part and fingers section, and comprising a pair of spaced leg portions integrally joined at their lower extremities by a semi-solid base portion, flexible means connecting the edges of the thumb part and fingers section made by the opening to the adjacent outer edges of the base and leg portions of the backstop member, and flexible means for connecting the adjacent edges of the leg portions of the member.

2. A baseball mitt having a palm piece and a back piece each having an aligned opening formed therein and dividing said pieces into a thumb part and a fingers section for the mitt, lacing means for joining the marginal edges of the pieces, an independent U-shaped backstop member positioned in the openings between the thumb part and the fingers section, and comprising a pair of spaced leg portions having free upper ends and integrally joined at their lower extremities by a semi-solid base portion, lacing means connecting the edges of the thumb part and fingers section made by the openings to the adjacent outer edges of the base and leg portions of the backstop memher, and lacing means for joining the adjacent edges of the leg portions of the member.

3. A baseball mitt of the kind described in claim 2 in which the leg portions of the backstop member are divided by a body weakening, centrally disposed, open-ended slot formed entirely through the body of the member.

WILLIAM J. SONNETT. BENJAMIN B. STOBBE.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rainey Sept. 1, 1925 Number 

